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CLEVELAND — A man charged with holding three women captive in his Cleveland home for about a
decade and raping them is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled yesterday.

Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo said the results of an examination of Ariel Castro last week
showed that he is mentally able to understand the charges and assist attorneys in his defense.

Also yesterday, prosecutor Saleh Awadallah said a meeting is planned next Thursday to discuss
the possibility of seeking the death penalty for the 52-year-old Castro, who faces aggravated
murder charges stemming from allegations that he caused the deliberate termination of one of the
women’s pregnancies.

Awadallah invited Castro’s attorney, Craig Weintraub, to submit evidence to him before the
meeting to support an argument against the death penalty.

Castro’s attorneys have previously hinted that he might plead guilty if talk of capital
punishment was taken off the table.

Awadallah said prosecutors would be going back to the county grand jury to seek more charges
against Castro, but he didn’t know when that would happen.

At the end of the hearing, Castro, his bearded chin tucked to his chest most of time, asked for
permission to visit with the child he fathered with one of the women he is accused of kidnapping
and raping. The judge denied the request.

“I just think that would be inappropriate,” Russo said.

Castro has pleaded not guilty to a 329-count indictment alleging he kidnapped three women off
the streets between 2002 and 2004 when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old and held them for about a
decade in his two-story home in Cleveland.

He fathered a 6-year-old daughter with one woman and is accused of starving and punching a
second woman to cause her to miscarry. He was arrested on May 6, shortly after one of the women
broke through a door at the home and yelled to neighbors for help.

The trial is scheduled for Aug. 5, but Russo said it could be delayed. Another hearing is set
for July 24.